


An Afternoon on the Ice

by TheSpaceHairAndTheSpaceIdiot



Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-07
Packaged: 2018-01-14 23:19:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1282429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceHairAndTheSpaceIdiot/pseuds/TheSpaceHairAndTheSpaceIdiot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Darling, are you sure this is a good idea?”</p><p>“Course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be? It's a brilliant idea!” Not waiting for her reply, he ducked back inside, continuing on his search within the seemingly infinite closet.</p><p>Alex raised an eyebrow, resting her chin on her hand from her comfortable spectator's position on the couch. “I'm sorry, but I can't help but think that mixing together a large icy surface, sharp skating blades, and you is not the best idea in the world.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Afternoon on the Ice

**Author's Note:**

> In response to a prompt on tumblr from Mae (agelesstardis):
> 
> "Matt and Alex doing anything where Person A is significantly more skilled than Person B. For example, ice skating - despite matt's clumsiness he could be a fantastic skater and alex could be horrid at it."
> 
> Thanks for the prompt and I hope it lives up to expectations!

“Darling, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Alex watched warily as she heard an avalanche of junk and a yelp of surprise come from within the closet Matt was currently buried in. A few moments later, however, his head poked out, hair mussed and cheeks red, but otherwise unscathed.

“Course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be? It's a brilliant idea!” Not waiting for her reply, he ducked back inside, continuing on his search within the seemingly infinite closet.

Alex raised an eyebrow, resting her chin on her hand from her comfortable spectator's position on the couch. “I'm sorry, but I can't help but think that mixing together a large icy surface, sharp skating blades, and _you_ is not the best idea in the world.”

His answering huff of indignation , although muffled, reached her ears perfectly. “I resent that, Kingston! I'll have you know that I- aha! Found 'em!”

There were more sounds of things falling as he tried to extricate himself and whatever he was carrying from the disorganized mess until, finally, he climbed out, getting his foot stuck on something inside briefly. He finally tugged himself loose, managing not to fall over or drop the box in his hands, and held his prize out, grinning triumphantly.

Quickly, he made his way over to the sofa, dropping the box down next to her and pulled a set of ice skates out. He held them out in front of her face eagerly, not hampered at all by the dubious look on her face. “Here, these were Laura's – I think you two are the same size shoe, so they should work. If not, I've got Mum's in here too. One of them will fit.” He placed them in her lap and returned to the box, pulling another pair of skates out, these presumably for himself. Looking up to see her still in the same spot, unmoving and having not touched the skates, his grin dropped into a frown. “What's the matter? Come on, try them on!”

Alex sighed, snatching the skates up but just held them against her chest. “Matt, I just don't think it's a great idea. I keep picturing you on the ice and all I can see is you falling and breaking a bone or getting your fingers run over and sliced off or something equally horrid.

Matt pulled a face. “Way to be morbid, Alex, great. Come on, when was the last time you heard of anyone getting their fingers cut off ice skating? It's perfectly safe!”

Alex rolled her eyes. “For normal people, maybe, but you, darling, do not have the best control over your limbs at the best of times, on solid ground.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I am _great_ at ice skating!”

“Just like you're great a riding a bike? Or going the wrong way up an escalator? Or how about all the times you stumbled over thin air?

“The thing with the bicycle was an accident! There was a nail in the road! Not my fault! Besides,” he said, another grin breaking out across his face, “if you're right, and I do fall, you get to spend the next few days nursing me back to health and where's the bad in that?” He waggled his nearly nonexistent eyebrows playfully, which accomplished its purpose in making her giggle.

“Oh, all right. And I won't say 'I told you so' when I'm proved right and you're hobbling away from the rink after whatever horrible spill you take,” she relented, leaning over to start pulling her shoes off and try on the blasted skates.

“Yes you would,” he said happily as he watched her, “but I guarantee you won't have to. Just wait and see!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The second they arrived at the rink, Alex knew it had been a bad idea.

First off, it was cold. Way colder than she'd expected it to be and while her coat, hat, gloves, and scarf did well to protect her against the freezing chill, they just weren't quite good enough and she could already feel her teeth start to chatter.

Second, the rink was full of people, the recent snow storm apparently attracting every resident of London to go out skating on this particular day. She and Matt being out and about as a couple was no longer the big media story it once had been but she still couldn't help feeling bad that when Matt inevitably took spill after spill on the ice that so many people would be around to witness it.

Then there was the fact that she kept feeling the urge to grab Matt's arm to steady him as he walked on his skates across the frozen grass to reach the actual ice, the site of the blades sinking ever so slightly into the cold ground and making his knees wobble precariously made her nervous and more convinced than ever that Matt on ice was not the safest thing for him to be doing today.

Eventually, however, he reached the ice several steps ahead of her and she winced as he stepped out, convinced he'd fall straight away. She was pleasantly surprised, however, when he managed to stay upright, skating a couple of feet out and then turning around, going back to the edge of the ice once more and holding his hand out for hers.

Gingerly, she took his outstretched hand and placed one foot on the ice, keeping it in place for the quick moment it took her to lift her other foot to have it join the first.

She quickly found both of her feet sliding around wildly, on the brink of falling right on her arse, the only thing keeping her upright being Matt's strong arms around her waist as she clutched desperately to his arms.

He laughed in her ear, his warm puff of breath ghosting over her face and tickling her nose. “All right there, Kingston? Thought you said you've done this before?”

“I have!” she answered attempting to preserve whatever dignity she had left, pushing herself slowly out of his arms and into an upright position. She wobbled precariously but somehow managed to skate the two feet over to the edge of the enclosed rinks, reaching out her hands to grasp it tightly between her fingers. “It's just been a while. Give me a moment to adjust and I'll be fine. It's like riding a bike, I'm sure.”

A knowing smirk starting to grow on his face that she would have slapped off had her hands not been otherwise occupied. He skated effortlessly over to her, actually skating further away and then back again almost certainly just to show off how very much _not_ injured he was. “How long, exactly?

Wiping a stray curl of hair away from her face, she forced herself to stand up straight and look him in the eye. “I don't know. Maybe twenty years?” she hazarded a guess, scowling when he burst into laughter and doubled over, a hand clutching at his stomach. “It's not funny!”

“No, course not,” he giggled, trying to get control over himself. “It's just... you never took Salome skating before?”

“I lived in LA, darling, where exactly did you want me to take her ice skating?”

Face alight with giddiness and repressed laughter, Matt skated closer to her. “So you mean I get to teach her how to skate too next time she's around? That'll be fun!” He then held out his hand, which she carefully took, and wrapped his other arm around her waist, helping her move carefully away from the wall. “Come on, there you go... nice and slow, Alex. I've got you.”

“How is it that I'm barely keeping to my feet and you're gliding around as if you've got wings?” she asked huffily, but secretly pleased at the warm, steadying weight of his arm wrapped securely around her.

“Magic,” he laughed, all too pleased at this particular turn of events as he helped her moved slowly around the rink without falling. “I told you, I'm great at ice skating! Always have been, since I was a kid, I've loved it.”

They skated a while longer, going round and round in circles, venturing further and further towards the center of the ring. He no longer needed to help her move quite as much , but still kept his arm tightly around her, which she couldn't say she minded at all. It was nice skating with him so close to her. She hadn't expected her own complete failure to retain whatever skating skill she used to have, but this really wasn't such an awful turn of events.

“Well, as much as it pains me to say, you were right, darling. I'm sorry for my astounding lack of faith in in your abilities,” she told him, reaching carefully up to kiss his cheek.

“I don't know how you cold ever have doubts about my abilities – don't I prove myself to you just about every night?” he asked with a smirk.

She slapped his arm lightly. “Different abilities and you know it! I've never seen you this graceful while in a vertical position,” she giggled, resting her head on his shoulder as they started to make their way back towards the edge of the rink.

“Well, I definitely prefer the gracefulness of the _horizontal_ variety, but this is good on occasion too.”

“Oh shut up,” she laughed, reaching up once more to kiss him, this time properly on the lips, not caring that her mouth was numb and she could barely feel her own lips or that his were just as cold and only made the skin surrounding her mouth even colder. He was sweet and chilly and the brush of his warm tongue against hers gave her a nice, warm, tingly sensation that somehow managed to spread through her whole body, warming her in a way moving across the ice hadn't managed to.

They broke apart reluctantly a minute later, wanting to avoid making a public spectacle of themselves, only when they did, Alex's foot levered back a touch too far behind her as she pulled away from him. Her feet went flying underneath her and the last thing she saw before she fell to the ground was Matt's face twist in concern as he tried and failed to catch her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I told you this was going to happen!”

“Hey, no fair! You said that I was going to be the one to have the accident,” Matt protested as he pulled the covers back on their bed and helped to lower her gently onto the mattress. “You're the one who fell and twisted your ankle, not me. It totally doesn't count!”

She scowled. “Forgive me, but how was I supposed to know that we ended up in some alternate universe where you are actually better than me at something involving coordination? It's unheard of!”

He laughed and grabbed one of the pillows off of his side of the bed, placing it gently underneath her right foot to help elevate it. “Just admit it, Alex, we finally found something I'm better than you at and because of that and the fact that you were intoxicated on my amazing snogging skills, you slipped. It's all right, you can admit it. I won't tell anyone. And I'm sure the couple hundred people who saw the whole thing down at the rink won't either.”

She grabbed the last pillow from his side and chucked it right at his head. He somehow managed to catch it, that infectious grin still on his face.

“Come on, Kingston, at least cop to the bright side here!” he pleaded with those stupid puppy dog eyes of his she could still never resist.

“What bright side would that be?” she asked petulantly as she shifted herself into a more comfortable position.

“I now get to spend the whole of the next few day nursing _you_ back to health,” he grinned, jumping up on the bed next to her, “which, of course, involves tending to your every _need_.” His eyes darkened as he spoke, his gaze raking slowly up and down her form once before stopping to look her in the eyes. “Got any requests in mind?”

Finally giving in to his stupid smile, Alex pulled him down next to her and captured his lips under hers. There certainly was something to be said for being confined to bed for the next three days.

 

 

 


End file.
